Run Boy Run
by StarryEyedSpacegirl
Summary: A series of one-shots based off the moment the first season ends and the team reappears in the mansion as children again. One story from each sibling's POV, beginning with a low-key FivexVanya drabble from Fives perspective! Having fun writing this piece, so feel free to comment, favorite, and tell me what you think:) Grateful for the positive reviews so far! Yay season 2 renew!
1. Run Boy Run

Run. That's all he'd been doing for the last forty-three years. It began when he ran away from the Academy, his father, and most regrettable of all, Vanya. He should have listened to her advice, heeded that little shake of her head. He should have been smarter. But he hadn't, and now they were back to where it all started.

The Umbrella Academy.

Five tilted his head to study his now younger bodied siblings, still standing in a circle and staring at each other in confusion. Allison put a hand to her neck, feeling for the white cotton bandage and ugly jagged scar that was now gone while Luther watched her every move with hawklike vigilance. A younger and less drug-addled Klaus was touching the face of a shell shocked Ben, no doubt trying to figure out if he was alive or not.

"Are you high or am I?"

"Maybe both?" Ben replied, his hair sticking up in every direction as Klaus ruffled his fingers through it for good measure.

"What the hell did you do Five?"

Five would have laughed at the absurd picture of Diego trying to look intimidating in his oversized clothing except he fully understood the terrible situation they now found themselves in. He shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "It was the only way. I'm not any happier about it than you are, but if we want to stop the apocalypse we had to go back to the source."

"Vanya?" Allison was hugging herself, her voice a little shaky. "She said that Dad was giving her pills to keep her powers contained. How are we going to get around that?"

"I have no idea."

"And now our father is alive, and we get to relive the worst years of our lives together."

"There are worse things than being together and having to go through puberty again Diego," Five sneered. "We just escaped a fiery death in the apocalypse, try and get a little perspective will you?"

Diego's retort was cut short by Mom's sing song voice. "What are you all still doing downstairs?"

They turned in unison to see her standing at the foot of the stairs, holding a tray of tea things and wearing her familiar guileless smile. "It's almost time for bed and you know how much your father dislikes it when you don't keep to the schedule."

Allison was the first to respond. "Of course mom, we were just about to go up."

"Well then, I'll be upstairs in a few minutes to check on you all." She smiled fondly at them before continuing on her way, humming as she went.

The silence left in her wake was cut short by Klaus. "Are we really… I mean, I'm not seeing things right? We're all little again? And we have little Ben here with us?"

"It looks like it," Ben answered, staring down at his hands.

"It's nice to have you here with us again, officially speaking," Five said.

Ben jumped. He was obviously unused to being addressed by any sibling other than Klaus. "It's good to be back… I think."

Klaus' stopped fiddling with is dog-tags momentarily to hug Ben to his side. "Of course you're happy to be back. You don't have to watch me eat waffles alone anymore. We can finally eat them together, like old times."

"Mm, waffles."

"Like we're thirteen again." Allison sighed as Diego stood off to the side, brooding. He was obviously fighting the urge to throw one of his knives at something. Or someone.

"We should probably get ready for bed before dad leaves the study." Luther said, stating the obvious.

Five resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Luther was great at pretending to have control over any situation. He was still trying to be Number One, even after all this time.

Although he did have a point. They were kids again, and they knew what would happen if they didn't follow the rules. Their punishments would be severe. But looking at Vanya hanging comatose in Luther's arms, Five realized he was past caring. He'd been through the apocalypse and back twice, and he was still alive and kicking. He was fairly confident he could take whatever the Old Man threw at him. Besides, they were here for one reason and one reason only: fix Vanya and prevent the apocalypse.

She stirred in Luther's arms. His sister seemed so peaceful in her sleep, a picture that was so at odds with the powerful figure that had obliterated the moon only moments before. Five's eyes narrowed as he saw Luther look towards Sir Reginald's office. He felt an unexpected surge of protectiveness well up inside of him. He refused to let Luther feed her to the wolves within minutes of coming home.

"Luther's right. We should go to bed, get some sleep and regroup in the morning."

Five took Vanya's still form from Luther before he could balk, and used what remained of his energy to jump to Vanya's room. It was a familiar action, one that he could remember doing often when they were young. He set her down on top of the covers, pulling off her shoes before draping a nearby blanket over the top of her. Vanya's brow furrowed, and she whimpered in her sleep. After a moment's hesitation, he sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. His touch seemed to soothe her and she released a small sigh.

He'd been with Delores for so long, he'd forgotten what it felt to be close to another human being. To feel the warmth of a hand in his. He looked over her face with a critical eye. Her pale cheeks and fine features weren't beautiful by any means, but they were as comforting and familiar to him as his own face.

He liked to think that there had been a special connection between the two of them over the years. She was the only one in the house that showed that she cared about him as an individual. She had always been a quiet girl, but when they were alone she was caring and passionate. And there were times when he would catch glimpses of rebellion in those usually soft eyes. A fire burning deep inside that colored her face with resolve.

That fire was what he liked most about her. But now he realized that it was a fire that could burn the whole world alive.

He flexed his jaw in frustration.

What he wouldn't give for a good cup of coffee right now. Maybe even something a little stronger. If only he could jump, go somewhere to clear his head, but he knew he just didn't have anything left in him. He was stuck, for the time being. And besides, he had nowhere to run to. The apocalypse was postponed, and although there was a lot of work to do, he didn't have a clue where to start.

At least they had time... Maybe. The Commission could be hot on his ass for all he knew, but that was clearly a problem for another day. What he had to focus on was here and now, trying to fix Vanya and hope against all hope that the bunch of dysfunctional assholes that called themselves the Hargreeves would somehow come out on top this time. Maybe even one day resemble something that looked like a real family.

Her fingers slowly tightened around his, bringing his thoughts back to the present. As they held hands in the silence, he felt his face relax. He smiled down at her with the first genuine smile he'd given anyone in years.

Maybe after all this time and effort, the future would still be shit, but at least he didn't have to run anymore. He didn't have to be on his own. Because now he had Vanya. And for now, that was enough.


	2. I Think We're Alone Now

Luther stared sightlessly up at the ceiling of his old familiar bedroom, his arms folded comfortably behind his head. He couldn't sleep. It had been a long day and a confusing one. Watching the apocalypse occur before his very eyes had been difficult. He couldn't quite process the fact that Five had sent them back in time, and he was now an adult in a thirteen-year-old body. It wasn't like he was unhappy about it, necessarily. Despite the fact that life as he knew it was gone, there was a lot of good that came out of it. Dad was alive, Allison had her voice again, and the team was back together. And he was no longer a monster.

Luther snuck a peek at his arm, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Small arms. Normal body. No hair.

He heaved a sigh of relief and was unable to bite back a smile. He wasn't sure he should be smiling, but he couldn't help it. Maybe this was his chance to get things right with Allison, to say all the things he never got to say because he was too afraid of losing her. He had lost her, but now they had years to grow close again, to get back to the way things were before anyone had left the Academy. Although he was beginning to think he needed to keep a much closer eye on her than before. She had always been brave and extremely stubborn, but these days she seemed to run into danger with open arms.

And now the danger was much closer to home than he could have imagined.

He didn't understand why Allison had been so insistent about saving Vanya. Why she had sworn that it wasn't Vanya's fault she'd almost died and lost her ability to Rumor. There was no doubt in his mind that Allison wasn't to blame. She was just trying to protect their sister for some unimaginable reason. But there was nothing she could say to change his mind. He could still see the image of Allison lying half dead in his arms, a scarlet stain pouring from the violent slash in her throat.

He shivered as he tried to erase the image from his mind, even though it would be forever burned into his memory.

Despite everything that had happened, he was sure he'd made the right decision to lock Vanya up in that room in the basement. She'd been a very real threat, and he'd only done what Dad did before him. If their brilliant father couldn't find a way to make Vanya's power manageable, then how could they possibly hope to do anything about it?

There was so much he didn't understand about their decision to bring her along. Things would have been much simpler if they'd just accepted that they couldn't save her and left her in the past. Five had been convincing enough that even Diego seemed bought into the idea, and he was usually the more callous of the siblings.

But it was too late for that now. He'd carried Vanya because Allison had wanted it. It was too bad that little asshole Five had taken her before he'd gotten his wits about him. He could have handed her over to Dad over and talked some sense into the group, but they hadn't even let him have an opinion during that little meeting Five set up. After some intense arguments, they'd come to a kind of consensus that they were going to talk to Vanya in the morning. They didn't know if she'd remember things or not, but whatever the case she was to be told. For what reason? He had no idea. It didn't make much sense to him, but Allison seemed to push for having a conversation and that had somehow settled the matter. She wanted to make sure that Vanya was included, that she remembered.

Luther shivered and turned to his side, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. What would Vanya do when she remembered that he was the one who locked her up in that cage? He hadn't missed the look in her eyes as she stood on that stage with her violin, her siblings caught up in her terrible powers. What would she have done if Allison hadn't defused her with that gunshot? Killed them all? Would she want to kill him now?

He just couldn't understand why was Allison so dead set on protecting that… that monster. He wished she was with him right now, just so he could hold her hand and get some comfort. She was always good at that sort of thing. She could help calm his nerves better than anyone. But they were back under Dad's roof, and if there was one thing he didn't tolerate, it was being out of bed after curfew.

The only thing he could do now was try to fall asleep, and hope that morning would come soon.

* * *

_Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this little blurb into Luther's consciousness. It was hard for me to get into his psyche, especially since I wanted to write something that was in character for the Luther I watched in the show. As much as I hate it, in the _end_ I believed that he wouldn't regret his decision to lock up Vanya. His character was very misguided, but also stubborn in his misguided decisions._

_What do you guys think about it? Do you think Luther will come back in season two more repentant, or more frustratingly stubborn than ever? Let me know!_


	3. The Heat of the Moment

***Thunk***

***Thunk***

***Thunk***

The sound of Diego's knives echoed dully through his bedroom chamber as he hit his training dummy dead center in the head, heart, and crotch respectively. He was lounging on his bed, still wearing his oversized uniform, still holding onto what little was left of his old life and his sanity. He couldn't believe he'd been duped into being imprisoned in this house once again, stuck in a small body and under the control of his Father_._

Yes, unfortunately, the bastard was no longer dead but very much alive and kicking. And he was just as terrible as ever.

They'd barely been in the house five minutes before the Old Man had started in on Mom. "What's this? I asked for the tea service to be delivered three minutes ago. How do you expect me to drink my tea cold? Go back and make it again!"

He'd been *this* close to tearing back down the stairs and giving Dad a piece of his mind, but Luther had stopped him.

"Now now Diego."

"Let me down y-y-you piece of shit!"

"Not gonna happen."

All he'd been able to do was hurl insults as he was being dragged away by an unrelenting Luther, proving that even without the monkey arms, his brother was still an annoying prick.

He pulled out another knife and with a swift flick sent it soaring towards the dummy target behind him. He didn't have to look to know he'd buried it deep into the left eye. How his insides seethed at the idea of seeing that monocle glaring down at him during breakfast, demanding why he wasn't doing as well as Luther during practice. Anger had always made his stutter worse, and being compared to Luther was like icing on the cake. How he hated having to live up to the standards set by that butt-kissing buffoon! Or baboon, more accurately speaking.

He laughed mirthlessly, but immediately regretted it. His voice was back to its unfortunate pre-puberty soprano.

"Shit."

There were a lot of things about the future he wasn't very happy about. Like living under the same roof as his father again and not having the choice to go wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. And now they had this plan for Vanya. The sister who secretly had powers. The sister who destroyed the world and made Five send them back to the past to relieve the worst years of his life. He had thought about blaming her for all of this, but in the end he realized that it wasn't her fault. She was the result of bad parenting, just like the rest of them. They were products of their shitty environment. Come to think of it, maybe they shouldn't be focusing on fixing Vanya. She was, after all, just a symptom of the disease. Maybe they should be focusing on eliminating the source, removing the cancer before it infected more of the body.

Diego pursed his lips. According to Klaus, dad had killed himself in order to bring the whole family back together, but that was in a different timeline. If they stuck together long enough in this one to somehow fix Vanya, then would Dad eventually just die of old age? He wasn't sure he was prepared to wait that long. Having to wait till he was eighteen to leave the house was hard enough, but to live a lifetime knowing that the Old Man was alive and treating Mom badly?

He fiddled with the edge of his knife.

He could do it, and nobody would blame him. Well, maybe Luther would but hey what's new? He'd all but accused him of murdering Dad the first time around so why not this time? He'd killed plenty of people before, bad people, and he was pretty sure Dad qualified as a bad person. He tried not to address the niggling in the back of his mind as he stood up to gather his knives. That pesky little thing called a conscience was talking to him again in the voice of one Eudora Patch, reminding him that he should give dad a chance.

A chance to what? To not lock their sister up in a tiny box in the basement and give her major anger issues? To not treat mom badly when all she ever did was obey his every command?

He recalled Five's words that had urged him to spare Cha-Cha. Eudora would never talk to him again if she knew he'd killed his Dad.

He clenched his fist.

"Diego dear, what are you still doing in your clothes?"

He whirled to face Mom, his face riddled with guilt. "Oh, hi mom. I wasn't doing anything."

"Well, that's not true. You're obviously getting in extra training with your knives." She smiled and sashayed forward to fuss with his overlarge sweater. "That's very responsible of you dear, but you were supposed to be in bed an hour ago. Your father will be very angry if he finds you still up and about."

"I don't care." He answered defiantly.

"You don't mean that." She laughed, and the sound filled up Diego's heart. "Here, let me help you. I'll take your knives, and you can put on your pajamas."

She handed him a neatly folded pile of bedclothes and began to hum as she lifted his knife harness above his head. He was helpless to resist, and barely balked when she nudged him towards the bathroom to change. Like a dutiful child, he did as she asked and came back to watch her gently close his knives away in their special case.

"Mom, how do you stand it?"

"Stand what dear?"

"Living here, in this house with Dad? He treats you really bad."

Her smile faltered a fraction. "You're Father is a brilliant man. He made me all that I am and I will always be grateful."

"Even though he abuses you all the time?"

She ushered him into bed and smoothed down his collar. "Mr. Hargreaves has a lot on his mind. He looks at the future while we are stuck in the present. That can make him a little unpleasant sometimes, but that's just his way."

"He's a bad man."

"Now Diego, that's not any way to talk about your Father." Her smile brightened. "If he was all bad, would he have this in his library?"

She pulled a book from the folds of her dress and showed him the tattered cover.

"Agatha Christie? Who's that?"

"She's only the best-selling novelist of all time silly! It's a collection of mysteries, and I know how much you like those. I thought you'd enjoy having it in your room."

"Thanks Mom."

"Would you like me to read some to you?"

His heart clenched a little. Maybe his Dad was a dick, but right now Mom, the one person he cared about most in the world, wanted to spend time with him. The last week or so he'd learned how precious time was, and how you never know what moment will be your last. He lost Eudora, then Mom, and now that he had her back. He knew he would do anything to make sure she was happy.

It didn't even matter that he was long past the age where he wanted a bedtime story.

"Okay."

"Wonderful." Her smile was brilliant, and after pulling up a nearby chair she opened the book to the first page. "In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in the _Times_..."

Diego settled himself more comfortably against his pillows and let himself get carried away by the sound of his mother's melodic voice.

* * *

Aaaaand there we have it! Hard exterior but softcore Diego. A mama's boy who's beginning to learn how to deal with those pesky little things called emotions. I didn't like Diego initially when I started the show, but he grew on me as the season went on. It didn't take long to realize that he's just an emotionally retarded crime-fighting boy :')

Also, I very much believe Diego would start reading Agatha Christie novels after having his mom read to him.

Hope you're enjoying my view of the Hargreaves children as much I'm having fun building their one-shots! :)


	4. Happy Together

Allison couldn't stop pacing, nervous energy propelling her back and forth across the plush carpet of her room.

They actually did it! They escaped the apocalypse and finally had a chance to start over. Tomorrow was going to be a day of new beginnings, and this time around, things would be different. She was going to be a better sister and a better friend to Vanya, and together, her family was going to help her figure out her powers. It didn't really matter that they weren't even remotely equipped or qualified to do it.

Somehow they'd come to an agreement to talk to Vanya in the morning. She wasn't so sure the boys were all in on the plan yet. Five had surprisingly taken the helm, demanding that everyone do their part. Klaus and Ben had seemed to be in agreement, but Diego... well, it didn't really surprise her that Diego didn't have any helpful opinions. He never did give a damn about anyone except Mom. And she was pretty sure Luther only agreed to the plan because he wanted to make her happy.

It wasn't a very promising start, but it was a start. Maybe by banding together to help Vanya they'd finally become a real family. She'd like that, especially since all the relationships she'd ever had had fallen apart. With her family, her husband... and her child.

Allison bit her cheek as it sunk in that her worst fears had been realized.

Her sweet baby girl, Claire, was gone. She'd never have the chance to see her again, to hold her and tell her she loved her. And she'd never have the chance to correct her mistakes. She was doomed to an eternity away from the one thing she loved most and cherished in this world, and you know what? It was all her fault. She had rumored her way into stardom, rumored her way into Patrick's heart, and had almost rumored her way into the grave. She was filled with so much regret. She'd abused her ability to the fullest extent and now she was reaping the terrible rewards.

She wiped at the hot tears making tracks down her cheeks and shuddered at the sudden cold. The house had always felt like an icebox, especially at night. She started to rummage through her closet to find a light sweater before remembering that she didn't have any of her nice clothes anymore. None except... where was that silk kimono she'd convinced Pogo to let her smuggle in? A few minutes of searching convinced her it was no longer there, so she grabbed one of her Academy robes instead. She rubbed her arms as she stood in the middle of the room, at a loss.

She needed to go somewhere, do something and not just pace around her room like a caged animal. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts anymore, it was just too painful. She grabbed a flashlight and slipped out her door, creeping down the hall on tiptoes. As she walked down the hall she heard Grace talking from behind Diego's closed door, and she hurried past the light leaking out from underneath the doorframe. Seems she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep tonight.

Allison meant to take her usual route through the house to the roof that overlooked the courtyard, but her footsteps paused at the door to Vanya's tiny room. Five had said he'd taken care of her, but she felt like she should look in for herself. Allison opened the door a hint and crept inside. It was practically pitch black, and as she approached the bed she stumbled over something on the floor. She grappled with her flashlight, afraid Vanya had somehow fallen onto the floor. She found the switch, and the flashlight's beam revealed that Vanya was still underneath the covers on her bed, in her pajamas and out cold.

She looked down at the floor.

"What the...?"

There, on the ground, was Number Five. He was sprawled on his back, mouth hanging open wide enough to catch flies. His pillow and blanket slightly askew from Allison kicking him, but he didn't seem the least bit disturbed. His chest was rising and falling steadily and his face was relaxed, making him look strangely young. He was still in his dirty school uniform, so he'd clearly been there for some time. Her light caught a prism of light and with a squint she discovered a bottle of some dark amber liquid peaking out from underneath the bed.

That explained some things. He was passed out drunk.

But why was he in Vanya's room?

She jumped as Vanya started to moan and thrash in her sleep. Before she could so much as think Five rolled over, his hand reaching out toward Vanya's in a seemingly unconscious movement. As their hands touched Vanya immediately quieted, and the room was still once again.

The wheels in Allison's head began to turn. She'd never paid Five or Vanya much attention growing up, but she wondered now if maybe something had gone on between them. Vanya had been so distressed after he disappeared, and she'd been caught sneaking into Five's room almost every day for the first year he was gone. And Five, well he kept things pretty close to the vest, but ever since he came back from the future all he could talk about was stopping the apocalypse. But now that Vanya was involved, maybe there was something more to it than simply saving the world. After all, he'd acted pretty possessive when Luther was holding her in the hall. He'd even used up the last of his precious energy to carry her back to her room.

Yes, something was definitely going on here, something that she was going to have to investigate. While she personally didn't mind Five, she felt that Vanya deserved so much more love than he was capable of providing. If Five liked her, he had better get his ass in line because Allison was going to ensure that Vanya felt the love she'd never gotten from the people who should have loved her the most.

Allison turned off the flashlight and crept out of the room. She made her way lightly to her favorite spot on the roof and settled herself on the ledge, her heart still sore but a little lighter nonetheless. There was nothing she could do about Claire, nothing she could do about all the regret. She couldn't fix the past, but if Five was just as much on Vanya's side as she was, then maybe they'd have a chance at saving the future.

She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, letting the soft breeze and sounds of the city lull her into a blissful state of unconscious. She didn't even twitch an eye when Pogo found her asleep an hour later and carried her back to bed.


	5. Soul Kitchen

Klaus settled into the bathtub with a contented sigh and breathed in the heady scent of his sister's purple orchid candle. What a relief it was to have the bathroom all to himself... Not surprising considering it was almost three in the morning. But hey, a lot had happened so there was a lot to think about.

He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift back to the dusky evenings he'd spent in Vietnam. He'd only been back in the present for a few days, but he'd spent almost ten months in that jungle. It had been hell, but then there was Dave. He always had Dave when the bullets stopped flying and the marching orders were no longer being shouted by angry men in tacky camouflage. He missed those nights when it was just the two of them soaking in the sounds and scents of the jungle, sitting close and talking about everything under the sun. Oh, how everything had seemed so perfect in those stolen moments. He would have stayed there forever if only he… if only Dave…

Helicopter rotors began to reverberate around the bathroom, and Klaus covered his ears with shaking hands. He kept his eyes closed tight, even though he was afraid of what he might see. Flashes of red. Explosions, gunfire, shouting. Dave, dead in his arms...

"Stop, please." He whimpered.

For old Klaus, this would have been the moment he went scrabbling out of the tub in search of a high, but now... even though the temptation was there, he realized that he didn't feel any of the usual urges. No withdrawals. At thirteen, he hadn't started doing hard drugs yet, although he probably had some joints tucked behind random statues and flower pots around the house...

No, not tonight. Tonight, Klaus was going to give this whole sobriety thing the good old college try. It's what Dave would have wanted... and what he wanted too, he supposed.

After a few minutes, the sound of the helicopter slowly faded away and he was able to release his head. He took a few calming breaths and clutched at the dog tags hanging around his neck. He wished he had a better memory of his last moments with Dave, and not just bloody hands and unseeing eyes. He wondered if there was some way to see him and talk to him for a little while. He'd been able to talk to all those ghosts Hazel and Cha-Cha had murdered, and summon ghost Ben to release his monster. Maybe if he tried to access all that "_untapped potential_" Dad had gone on about. Never mind the part about being his "_greatest disappointment_".

Well, at least he was a disappointment with potential now instead of just an attention seeking crackhead. Although he couldn't help wondering, how does one find their potential? If he had it, it was most likely trapped underneath several layers of childhood trauma. Getting to it was going to take some serious work.

Ugh.

Maybe if he stayed sober a while longer, he could do it. Maybe if he stayed mostly sober... and had something to drink, just to get the ideas flowing. If only Ben would appear to slap him across the face and tell him to get over it.

Klaus' eyes widened and he sat up. Ben. He wasn't dead anymore! How did he forget something so important?

He hoisted himself out of the tub and barely wiped himself down before throwing on a robe. He had to do something for him, to welcome him back after being gone for fourteen years. Well, not really welcome back, but a welcome back of sorts. I mean, he'd been around the whole time and saw a lot of the world with Klaus. And by a lot, he really meant back alleys and the inside of various ambulances. Also a lot of bathrooms... not to mention the liquor stores.

Whatever, the point was that he needed to be welcomed back properly, not just patted on the back once or twice and told goodnight.

He pulled the belt of the robe tight with a snap. A waffle party! A waffle party with hot cocoa… and pop tarts? He thought Ben liked pop tarts and possibly slim jims and milk. He just hoped Dad wouldn't wake up and ruin everything. Well... screw it. Screw Dad. Screw the rules. Screw it all! He was already a monumental disappointment so who cares? It was time to prove exactly how much of a disappointment he could be, and live life to the fullest!

He left the bathroom in a rush and skid across the floor to reach the staircase. He would have slid down the banister except all he had on was some silky oriental thing with nothing underneath, and he wasn't exactly in the mood to pick splinters from where the sun don't shine.

As he took the stairs two at a time, he pulled his plan together. His hope was to provide the best spread of food imaginable for a boy who'd been dead for fourteen years. It would only take a few minutes and a couple of toasters, but he thought it would be just enough.

* * *

_And there we go, our sweetest Klaus in all his glory! I love this crazy sad boy with all my heart so let's just consider this a part-one of two Klaus-centric stories :) I hope you enjoy my version of Klaus, whose inner monologue I imagined as melancholy and a little desperate, yet still holding all the cute quirks we love so dearly. Thank you for all your support of my stories so far, it warms my heart to know so many other people love this show and these people as much as I do!_


	6. Goody Two Shoes

"Klaus what are we doing?"

"Shh, you'll ruin the surprise!"

Ben sighed in resignation as he slowly crept after Klaus in the dark. His brother had army crawled into his room in the early morning hours, telling him to put down his book, grab his dressing gown, and follow him. He hadn't had a choice really, especially since Klaus had threatened to sing _"Frère Jacques"_ at the top of his voice. Not that Ben was afraid of Dad hearing them, his room was far enough away from his children that he wouldn't hear them causing the apocalypse, but a few years back Klaus had decided to serenade him with a variety of made of verses sung in a terrible French accent. He really didn't feel like going through that again.

He cringed as he stepped on a creaky floorboard and Klaus shushed him.

It was strange being alive after so long. He'd just wasn't used to the sensation of gravity or breathing... or having to pee. It was a lot of work. Not to mention that smells were almost overwhelming. He could tell that Klaus had been using lavender bath bubbles.. and was that patchouli? And don't even get him started about the way things feel. He'd almost gone crazy just lying underneath the sheets on his bed. He was glad Klaus had come around when he did, it gave him a welcome distraction.

As he followed Klaus' hunched form through the house, he could admit that he kind of missed being his brother's tag along. He was almost sad he wouldn't be around all the time. He'd grown accustomed to looking out for him and trying to be the voice of reason. It was funny how he hadn't been close to Klaus in life, but in death, he'd really come to understand the Hargreaves' craziest sibling. And he loved him despite his insanity.

But I guess it was his turn to live. What a weird concept. He scratched at a random itch on his butt. He wasn't looking forward to eating lima beans again or having to go to practice every day. Then there were all the variables to life, like heartache, addiction, explosive diarrhea, and sudden violent death.

He hoped he wouldn't have to relive those last two again. But hey, when you live you have to take all the little heartaches that go with it. Right?

"When are you going to tell me where we're going? Maybe I know how to get there faster."

"I'm not trying to get there fast, I'm trying to get there without being caught. There's a difference. You never know what you'll run into during a midnight trip to the kitchen..."

"So we're going to the kitchen?"

"Damn."

"Well then why don't we go this way." Ben tugged at Klaus'… kimono? "Hey, isn't that Allison's?"

"What, this old thing?" Klaus gave the end of the belt a little twirl. "She had it stuffed in the bottom of her closet so I didn't think she'd mind if I took it out for a spin." He did a little twirl without warning. Ben didn't have enough time to cover his eyes.

"Really man? Thanks for the view, but I hadn't really planned on looking at the moon again for a few more days at least. I was hoping to have some time to recover from my trauma from the first time around."

Klaus scoffed. "Oh please, you've seen far worse."

"Don't remind me."

Klaus twisted around to get a look at his butt. "I think my ass looks better in this kimono than Allison's ever did, wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess so. I've never compared your asses before. I'd have to see a side by side comparison."

"I'll make it happen. Tomorrow, at the meeting, you'll see whose ass is the superior ass."

"I look forward to it."

"You mean behind at it?"

Ben tried really hard not to smile... and almost succeeded. "You're an idiot."

"Aw, thanks Benny." Klaus rested his arm around Ben's shoulder and continued his deliberation. "Now where were we..."

Ben pointed at the back stairway. "Going this way."

"No, no that's not right."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is."

"No it's no-! oh wait, it is. I remember I broke my jaw walking down these stairs in Grace's heels."

"_Quelle suprise._"

"Hey, that's my line!"

"You don't own the phrase 'Quelle surprise'. It belongs to the French."

"You belong to the French."

"A real zinger Klaus."

"Shut up."

Ben grinned to himself and followed his brother down the stairs. They dodged around Pogo, who seemed to be wandering around deep in thought, and waited until they couldn't hear his footsteps anymore before hurrying on. He found his mouth watering as they got closer to the kitchen, and when they approached the doors, he stepped inside the room with a gasp.

"Ta-da!" Klaus proudly spread his arms wide to encompass the table.

Ben blinked away the sudden moisture in his eyes as he saw each of his favorite foods carefully laid out on their Father's nicest dishes. It was piled so high he was sure there was enough for at least ten people. He walked forward and tried not to shiver at the creepy taxidermied lizards that was hugging some flowers and a badly hand-written note that said: "Welcome back to the land of the living! Plot twist, the future's shit!"

"You did all this, for me?"

"Well, while I was up late solving world hunger I found myself getting a little peckish so I thought,_ 'hey, you should go eat, but you know what else? Go get Ben because solving world hunger should always start close to home.'_ And here we are."

"Wow." Ben breathed in deep and was assaulted by the most delicious smells. He dipped a finger into a pool of syrup that had settled around a stack of waffles, sighed happily as the maple melted onto his tongue, and sniffled back a few tears. The one brother he'd seen on a regular basis for the last fourteen years was the only one who'd thought to do something nice for him on his first night back. He didn't know what to say. He sniffled again.

"Danks Klaus."

Klaus put his arms around him and grinned. "Hey, no worries Benny. I'll be your snack burglar buddy anytime you want."

"Anytime?"

"You can count on it."

* * *

_And here is part two of Klaus. I just can't help myself with these two! They are the perfect old married couple trope that is so much fun to write, and I don't ever want to stop seeing these two together and interacting 3 I felt low-key sad Ben is alive again, simply because he and Klaus were such a good duo. But I know Ben deserves his own life, and I look forward to seeing what Ben is going to look like in season 2! _

_I'm mentally prepping for Vanya's one-shot, and I hope you guys are prepared for more sibling bonding and dysfunction time! But don't forget, you can't spell "dysfunction" without "fun" ;)_


	7. All Die Young- Part 1

Vanya did not want to wake up. That was the best night's sleep she'd ever had in her life, and she really wanted to stay in the moment and enjoy it. What day was it... Thursday? Friday? She didn't care. She just wanted to exist in this moment forever. She allowed herself drift in and out of sleep for a few minutes but eventually rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust, but when they did she frowned.

She was in her old room at the Academy. But wasn't the Academy destroyed? Or at least she thought it was. She sat up with some confusion. It was the same room she remember sleeping in when she was growing up. She didn't own much, just a few newspaper clippings of her siblings taped to the corner of her small mirror and her violin. She stared at the instrument for a moment. There was an inkling of something in the back of her mind. Something was off, she just didn't know what. She reached up to brush her fingers through her hair, pausing when she felt the bangs that were swept across her forehead. She brought her hands down and stared at them. Small hands. A child's hands. But wasn't she...

She leaned forward and peeked into the mirror. Yes, there she was. A young Vanya in her... pajamas? She looked at the little embellished umbrella on the front of her shirt. She didn't have any special Umbrella Academy pajamas, just normal ones. She picked at the umbrella while she tried to sort things out. Whose pajamas was she wearing? Wasn't she supposed to be an adult? She believed so, but the face in the mirror told her otherwise.

She had hazy memories of what she thought was her life. Living alone in an apartment, playing her violin at the concert hall, seeing Five again after he disappeared... But no, it must have all been some kind of dream. The Academy was still here after all, and she thought it had come crashing to the ground. Because of her. Because of her powers.

She sighed.

Yes, it must have all been one beautiful and terrible dream. She didn't have any powers. And yet... She stared down at her hands. Nothing happened. She looked up at her violin. Maybe if she could just hold it in her hands, and remember... she went to stand and fell back with a shriek when she realized someone was there.

"Five?" When he didn't respond she was struck by a jolt of fear. "Five!"

She fell to the floor and rolled him over to his side. For a moment he hung limply, but she released a sigh of relief as she saw his chest rise and fall in one deep breath. A frown marred his brow. She shook him gently. "Five, wake up!"

"Hmph, huh?" The Boy took a moment or two to respond to her gentle shakes, but he eventually opened his eyes. He blinked up at her. "Vanya?"

"I'm here Five." She smiled uncertainly. "Why are you in my room? You know Dad hates it when you sleep in here."

"What time is it?" He asked, groaning as the light from the window caught him in the eye.

"A little after seven I think."

"Shit." He scrambled to his feet, even as he winced. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his disheveled uniform. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Where are you-"

But he was gone before she could finish her question.

She jumped as he reappeared a few seconds later. He snatched her hand and suddenly she found herself in the kitchen.

"What the- what's going on Five?"

"Sorry, there's no time to explain now." He kissed her forehead and pointed at her sternly. "Now stay put!"

"Five!"

But he was gone again. She huffed. Why in the world was she supposed to... She stared at the still sleeping forms of Ben and Klaus under the kitchen table, which was piled high with half-eaten waffles and slim jims. She picked up a discarded can of whipped cream and shook it.

Empty.

"What in the world is going on?" She muttered. Dreams of having powers. Five kissing her forehead. Ben and Klaus asleep on the kitchen floor.

Something suspicious was going on here.

Her suspicions were further aroused when Five reappeared with Allison.

"Vanya!"

She was attack hugged by a riot of hair. "Thank God you're awake! How are you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Allison gave her a once over like an anxious mother. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah... why shouldn't I be?"

"You don't...? Oh." Allison let go of her shoulders and pulled back. She looked unsure of herself, which was an unnatural expression on her sister's beautiful face. Vanya found her eyes dropping to her sister's throat like some kind of strange habit. Did her sister have a scarlet scarf that she tied around it, or was she just remembering a dream? A wave of shame overtook her with such force that she gasped.

Allison looked concerned. "Vanya?"

"I-I'm fine." She swallowed and looked anywhere but at her sister. "What's going on? Why is Five being so... weird?"

"We're having a family meeting."

"Are you guys going on another mission?"

"I... guess you could call it that."

"Oh." Vanya tried to hold back an embittered sigh. Another mission where she was going to be left behind. Because she was... what was that word that her Father loved to use?

Ordinary.

But she knew she was anything but ordinary.

Allison cleared her throat nervously and looked away. She seemed to notice the table and squinted at it. "What is all this?"

"I guess Klaus and Ben enjoyed themselves a little too much last night."

"I'll say." She went up to Ben's hand and kicked it. "Maybe Klaus thought Ben would be hungry. After all, he's been..." She shot Vanya a sideways look, "gone. For a little while."

Vanya wanted to ask where, and thought better of it. Last she remembered Ben was dead. But nothing was making any sense anymore.

"Come on boys, where are you?" Allison muttered.

As if on cue, Five, Luther, and Diego all appeared at the same time, although there appeared to be some kind of disagreement going on. Diego was surprisingly not involved, walking away silently as Five and Luther continued their heated conversation.

"That's a terrible idea Luther, and you know it." Five was saying, clearly trying to hold back his temper. "And that wasn't a question. This isn't up for debate. Period."

"Says who?" Luther asked defensively. "You?"

"Yes me, who else?"

"Well I'm Number One so what I say goes."

"I hate to break it to you buddy but we're not doing things that way this time around."

"Why not?"

"Because it sounds like a perfect way to repeat the past."

"Stop it, both of you!" Allison barked. "We're having this meeting so we can all talk about this, not just wait around for you two to decide what we're going to do!"

"What are you guys trying to figure out?" Vanya asked Diego quietly.

He'd made his way to the table and was viewing the carnage with some interest, but he looked back at her for a moment to reply, "We're trying to figure out what to do about you."

"What the hell Diego?" Allison broke off berating Luther and Five to stare at their brother in disbelief.

He shrugged. "We had to get this meeting started somehow. Figured that was the best way to do it."

She threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine, but we gotta wake up the guys first."

"What's going on?" Vanya couldn't help whispering.

"It'll make sense in a second Vanya. I promise." Five put his arm around her shoulders and gave them a protective squeeze.

Vanya looked at Five with some surprise. He was being uncharacteristically sweet to her, but his eyes were narrowed at Luther, who had made his way over to Allison's side. The two boys were still eyeing each other with obvious dislike.

Diego clapped close to Ben's ear. "Come on guys, wake up! The meeting's getting started and we don't have a lot of time."

"What the-!" Ben's head shot up and cracked against the bottom of the table. He held his head with a groan. "That was a dick move Deigo."

"I thought I should be extra loud since I wasn't sure you'd wake up from the sugar coma you obviously indulged in last night."

"Ugh." Ben slapped Klaus repeatedly until the boy rolled over. "Get up. It's meeting time."

"Already?" Klaus asked, his features groggy. As Ben slowly crawled out from under the table, Klaus made himself more comfortable, grabbing a piece of discarded slim jim with an obvious desire to eat it. He took a bite and looked around till his eyes found Vanya. He shot her a goofy grin. "Oh hi Vanya, it's good to see you not all pale and murder-y this morning."

"Klaus!" All her siblings shouted at once, making Vanya jump.

She didn't understand why they were taking what he said seriously. He always said weird stuff like that because he was always high.

"Five, what's going on?" Vanya asked again, this time louder. Everything sounded so strange. Diego's foot was bouncing, and the sound was echoing around in her skull like some kind of war drums. Everyone was eyeing each other uncertainly, some of them even looking at their slippers. No one seemed to want to look at her.

"Well... there's no easy way to put this but..." Five swallowed and looked her dead in the eye. "You sort of caused the apocalypse."

* * *

_Dun, dun, DUN!_

_Well guys, I totally thought I was going to end the story right here and right now, but when I got to 1,000 words and things still weren't shaping up I realized I needed to cut it into two stories. I want to get the maximum impact out of this thing, and I just couldn't do it in one! _

_Thank you to LucyLuna, DauntlessTribute13, and everyone else who has supported my story and encouraged me along the way. This has been a fun journey because I have finally created a story that I have felt 100% involved and excited about the whole way! _

_With that in mind, stay tuned for more sibling shenanigans in "All Die Young" Part 2!_


	8. All Die Young- Part 2

Vanya looked equal parts confused and horrified. Five hadn't really thought it through before saying the words out loud, but he figured that it would be far easier to start with the truth, then go back to the beginning.

"Do you remember anything before today?"

"Well I…." She stammered, dipping her head as she bit her lip. "I suppose I remember… playing my violin at the concert hall. There are other things but… I guess I dreamed it all."

"What things?" Allison asked.

"I know it sounds crazy but… the Academy was gone and I..." Vanya raised her head, "I had powers."

She met each of her siblings' gazes with defiance, and Five felt a surge of pride. This was good. This was the Vanya they needed to see.

"You do have powers." Allison took a step closer, Luther not far behind. "It's why the world was destroyed."

"Why would I destroy the world?"

"I guess it started because I… I pushed you too hard and hurt you."

"More like she hurt you." Luther growled.

"We all hurt her." Allison snapped. "All those years in the Academy and none of us treated her like a true sister. We couldn't see past our own problems to help each other like a real family should."

Luther looked like he wanted to argue, but then Diego spoke up. "Allison's right."

There was a moment of stunned silence as they took in Diego's rare show of positive affirmation.

"What happened?" Vanya asked.

Each of them looked at each other before turning to look at Five.

He heaved a heavy sigh. "If I'm going to do this, then I need a decent cup of coffee first."

"Say no more!" Klaus scrambled to his feet and all the siblings cursed and shut their eyes as he attempted to retie his flamboyant robe. He wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"Really Klaus, how about some decency." Luther chided.

"Says the ex-gorilla man whose first time having sexual relations was with a strange girl he met at a rave while he was high."

That certainly shut Luther up. Five smirked as he turned bright red and tried to avoid Allison's glare.

Allison pursed her lips as she looked back at Klaus. "Is that my kimono?"

"What, this?" Klaus threw a lanky arm around her shoulder. "Oh yeah, I didn't really feel like putting on those dreary pajamas dad made for us so I went through your closet. You usually have nice things tucked away in the corners. I didn't think you'd mind."

"Well I… guess you do pull it off pretty good."

"You hear that Ben?" Klaus wiggled his butt and looked at their quietest sibling, who was munching on a stiff waffle. Ben gave him a double thumbs up.

Five took this strange interruption to the meeting in stride. "Yes, we all agree that you look good in Allison's clothes Klaus, now can we please get back to the part where you said you'd make some coffee?"

"Right you are Five." Klaus saluted at him and set to work.

Diego nodded at Five. "We've only got about an hour before dad expects us in for breakfast."

"Very well," Five frowned, then turned to Vanya, "it's a long story. You'd better sit down."

The siblings didn't bother to clean the table of half eaten waffles and pop tart wrappers, but most of them sat as Five stood before them, his hands in his pockets. Diego chose to lean against the wall with his arms crossed.

Five took a deep breath and told the whole story as efficiently as he could. The other five siblings put in their two cents here and there, occasionally bickering until Five snapped at them to get to the point. Vanya started out watching Five's every move, but by end of it she was frowning down at the table.

She didn't respond right away, and Five hadn't really expected her to. It was an awful lot to process. But it didn't stop the siblings from trading looks with each other. Five knew they were all thinking the same thing. Would Vanya lose control? Had this meeting been a mistake?

Vanya's face was pale and her expression troubled, but seemed to be in control of her emotions.

For now.

Or perhaps as a child she had a better grasp on them.

The silence seemed to drag on until she finally said: "That's some pretty messed up bullshit."

Five sipped at his second cup of coffee and smiled to himself. This was the Vanya he loved, not that fearful shadow of a girl he'd watched her grow into as children.

"Yeah. We've been a pretty terrible family." Klaus said with a sigh. "So we should probably… I don't know, use this strange time travel situation as an opportunity or look to the future or something like that."

"Great pep talk." Luther rolled his eyes. "Real inspirational."

"I was just trying to be you." Klaus stated defensively.

"It may be a badly worded and simplistic answer, but it's true nonetheless." Five replied, cutting off Luther's retort.

"I agree." Allison spoke up.

"So I caused the apocalypse because I used my powers." Vanya murmured.

"Because you didn't have control of your powers." Diego interrupted once again, surprisingly, with something constructive.

Five put a hand in his pocket and started to pace. "As I told you before, we didn't know you had them until a few days ago. Well, a few days ago for us but a couple years into our future in terms of the timeline. What I didn't tell you is that we tried to stop the apocalypse several times, but each attempt failed. The only way we figured we could stop it for good was to go back in time and get to the source of the problem."

"And I'm the problem."

"You're never a problem." Five corrected.

Vanya smiled shyly at him.

"You're our sister and we want to help you!" Allison said earnestly, "The apocalypse happened because you lost control. Since we know you have powers now, we can try to help you control them."

"Leonard tried to teach me how to control them, and look where that got us." Vanya gazed around at them all, one by one. "What makes you think it will be better this time around?"

"We don't," Diego said simply, "But we have to try."

"For the sake of our family." Allison smiled.

"For the sake of the world." Luther added, and for once Five didn't disagree with him.

"The only way we can do this is together."

"Yeah," Klaus added. He had somehow conjured up a bottle of vodka, and was attempting to pull off the top one handed. "Maybe this time around, we can all learn to be- hey man that's not cool!"

Klaus stuck his tongue out at Ben, who'd snatched the bottle out of his hands.

Ben frowned at him. "If you start drinking vodka at thirteen you're going to be an addict a lot sooner than before."

"How come Five can drink Brandy but I can't drink vodka?" Klaus whined.

"Because he's at least sixty years old." Ben provided helpfully.

Klaus flipped him off.

"Ben has a point," Diego grunted, "Let's try to keep this sobriety thing going, okay Klaus? I mean you remember what you did in the theater right? That was because you were clean. Who knows what other cool shit you could do."

"Diego's right," Allison hurried to add, "I think there's a lot of things about our powers that we don't actually know."

"What about dad?" Vanya asked quietly.

Dad.

The silence that reigned after this question was complete.

"We can start by finding that book of his," Allison said slowly, "He's got all of his notes on Vanya's powers in there. Maybe if we can find a way to sneak them out and make copies..."

"That's not a bad idea." Five mused. "All we'd have to do is find out where it is, and get Pogo and Mom out of the way long enough for me to grab it when dad's looking the other way."

"Then we can take some pictures, and dad will be none the wiser." Allison agreed.

Vanya looked doubtful.

"It's not perfect, but it's a start." Diego nodded.

"That's good enough for me." Ben added his advice for the first time.

Klaus shrugged. "I guess it is for me too."

"Okay." Vanya said.

Five grabbed her hand. "We'll figure this thing out, together."

"Together." Allison agreed, grabbing her other hand.

Vanya smiled tentatively at her.

All around the table there seemed to be general agreement, although Five knew Luther was only going along with whatever Allison wanted.

However, Diego was right. It wasn't a perfect plan by any means. In fact, it was a pretty shitty plan by most standards, but it was a start. The rest would fall into place eventually. Come hell and The Commission, they'd make this thing work. They had to.

"To the Umbrella Academy." Five raised a cup of coffee in mock salute.

"To the Umbrella Academy." the voices of five other siblings joined together.

They looked to Vanya.

"To us," She said at last, "The Umbrella Academy."

She smiled as she raised her glass, included for the first time, and together they drank in unison to the bright unknown.

—————

_**I apologize one thousand ways for waiting so long to finish this fic! As usual, I got distracted by a nice and shiny new fic and put this one on the back burner, even though it only needed one last chapter.**_

_**I don't know about you but I have a hard time finishing things. It's so satisfying to do, but mentally difficult. However, I'm glad I was able to finally put this one to rights.**_

_**Thank you to everyone who cared anougb about my rendition of the siblings to carry on through the entirety of it! Here's to season 2! **_

_**Cheers friends!**_


End file.
